[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 25, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE APPOINTMENT OF EVE J. HIGGINBOTHAM, M.D. AS DEAN OF THE MOREHOUSE 
                           SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 25, 2006

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Eve J. 
Higginbotham on her appointment as the new Dean and Senior Vice 
President for Academic Affairs at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. 
Higginbotham has long been a valued member of my Health Advisory 
Committee, where she has demonstrated remarkable leadership abilities.
  Dr. Higginbotham received her S.B. and S.M. degrees from the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her M.D. from the Harvard 
Medical School. In 1994, Dr. Higginbotham was appointed as Chair of the 
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Department at the University of 
Maryland School of Medicine, becoming the first woman in the United 
States to head a university-based ophthalmology department. Previously, 
she served on the University of Illinois faculty as Chief of the 
Glaucoma Clinic and an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for 
Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan.
  Dr. Higginbotham has also served on numerous boards, including those 
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Helen Keller 
Foundation. Her strong commitment to improving health care is evident 
from her work with the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus 
Foundation, where as Director of Outreach Services she established a 
program through which medical students screen patients in their 
communities for glaucoma. The program, Student Sight Savers, has been a 
great success and is currently in operation at more than thirty medical 
schools nationwide.
  Throughout her career, Dr. Higginbotham has received numerous awards 
and honors, including the AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award in 2004. She 
has received the Suzanne Veroneaux-Troutman Award and the Roman Barnes 
Achievement Award. She has consistently been listed among the Best 
Doctors in Baltimore and America for over a decade.
  The Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is an historically black 
institution established to recruit and train physicians, scientists, 
and public health professionals committed to primary health care. 
Founded in 1975, the Morehouse School of Medicine admitted its first 
class in 1978, became an independent, four-year medical school in 1981, 
and was fully accredited in 1985. Since its founding, it has graduated 
602 physicians, 68 percent of whom are primary care practitioners and 
84 percent of whom practice in economically depressed areas. I am 
confident that Dr. Higginbotham will help continue and further shape 
the legacy of the Morehouse School of Medicine as it works to fulfill 
the needs of America's under served communities.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Higginbotham is both a renowned expert in her field 
and an outstanding public servant. I urge my colleagues in the U.S. 
House of Representatives to congratulate Dr. Eve J. Higginbotham on her 
new role as Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. This 
week, Maryland's loss is Atlanta's gain, and I wish to stand with the 
many Marylanders who are grateful to Dr. Higginbotham for her 
tremendous service to our community.

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